Living the life of a teacher for three days, despite being exciting, was no easy task. My coping mechanism was planning. I had made the necessary arrangements to teach the lessons well in advance so that I could plan. I had gotten a timetable from the teachers, including the topics that they would be teaching on that specific day, and I planned my lessons using those resources and information. I had managed to complete these three days solely because of the kindness of the teachers and one of the teachers being on leave on the day that I took over his timetable. The teachers were my main assets as they helped me to plan how to set myself up and they had given me the opportunity to fill their shoes for the day.
Since block one was more about the social action project that I had to conduct, I had completed my three-day life of a teacher segment in block 2. I would not have it any other way as it had worked out perfectly in my favour. The process of having so many lessons to teach and prepare for was overwhelming, however, it was something that I could handle and learn a lot from.
The activities that I found to be the most challenging was the collecting of money for an excursion and dismissal. This is because the process of handling money can be stressful. If anything had to go wrong, I would be held accountable for it. Secondly, dismissals can be a tedious process since the learners are always so excited to go home. However, at Just Juniors Academy, every learner needs to be collected either by their parent or transport before the educator can leave the dismissal area. This meant that I had to make sure that the learners were dismissed correctly. I overcame these challenges by being very careful. I ensured that the money collected went straight to the office and was signed for by the secretary to say that she received the money. I was also extra careful when dismissing the learners. I had found out from the form teacher which learners went home with their parents, who went to aftercare and who travelled with a liftclub. Since the school is private, there were a small number of learners per class which made the process a little less stressful.
I would not rate myself higher in any aspect as I had filled out the survey truthfully. I am a work in progress and my life as a teacher will mean that I am continuously learning and improving myself.
All of my competencies have been improved since this was a 6 week experience. It has allowed me to tap into creative abilities that I did not know I had.
According to my mentor teachers rating and my self-evaluation, the mentor teacher sees more potential in me than I see in myself. This is very uplifting and encouraging.
It has been an amazing experience filling the shoes of other teachers and it makes me impatient to become a permanent teacher.
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